


Breathe Disaster

by LukasBondevik



Category: DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-14
Updated: 2015-02-21
Packaged: 2018-03-12 08:48:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3350606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LukasBondevik/pseuds/LukasBondevik
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aoba lived his life the best way that he knew how; juggling the responsibilities of taking care of his sickly older brother Sei, looking after his grandmother Tae, and working at the junk shop down the street. However, the unfolding of strange events in his life prompts the actions of people, those he's known and those he's newly met, in ways he never imagined before, and everything seems to be initiated by that cryptic young man in the gas mask.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my favorite first attempt at writing fanfiction for DRAMAtical Murder, so I truly hope I do it justice. It's not done yet, but it is turning out to be a monster of a story, much longer than I had previously anticipated. So I truly hope you enjoy and stick around for what I have in store c: This is going to be, overall, a Clear and Aoba endgame pairing, however due to the circumstances of the story, it will not begin that way for a while.
> 
> Also, if anyone would be interested in being a beta for this story please let me know. I desperately need one!

He was alone. The night was upon him and it was dark, but Serageki Aoba was not afraid. He had lived in Midorijima his entire life, and he knew the streets like the back of his hand. He had never had any problems getting to and from school, getting to and from work, or anywhere at all really. He had lived most of his life without fear of being mugged or robbed or attacked and that was mostly based on his personal experience of never having gotten into any trouble that he did not start himself in his life. He strolled casually along the sidewalk with his hands in his pocket and his bag on hanging off his shoulder, humming softly under his breath as he turned the corner onto Aoyagi Street, nearly home. ****

The junk shop had kept him late that night due to the unexpected surge of customers, but he was glad for the extra money in his pocket. He wondered what he was going to do with the extra cash that he was tipped by a pleased customer and thought that maybe he should get something nice for his Granny. She seemed down and out of it lately, and he wanted to cheer her up somehow. Instead she still took care of him as well as she ever did, and he took her for granted.

He sighed miserably as he caught sight of their house in the distance and frowned in irritation at himself for being so thoughtless. He would think of something, somehow. As he reached the front of his house, he felt suddenly on edge and glanced around, feeling as though someone were right behind him. His footsteps had unexpectedly echoed for a couple of steps, and he was sure someone was following him. But when he turned around there was no one to be seen. It was an eerie feeling, and he rushed into the house and locked the front door behind him as quickly as he could.

His heart rate was escalated and he felt like his stomach was being tied in knots with anxiety. That was the first time he had ever thought he was in danger outside, and the feeling was foreign to him. He swallowed hard against the lump rising in his throat and took off his shoes before entering onto the wooden platform calling out, "Granny!" She didn't answer immediately and he frowned, pushing his way into the living room where he had expected her to be waiting for him. She had a habit of staying up until he got home from work, but he didn't see her sitting around anywhere.

"G-granny?" he called again, suddenly afraid and the desperate feeling he had in his chest deepened to overwhelming anxiety. He was sure he had locked the door on his way out to work, there was no way anything could have happened. Suddenly the sound of something crackling gently came from the kitchen and he sped through the hall to get there, his heart racing.

There stood his grandmother, her face near the frying pan and a basket of homemade donuts piled on the counter next to her. "Aoba, it's late," she mentioned loudly before tossing a few more on top of the pile. His laugh released in a shaky stream as he picked one of the donuts from the top of the pile, stuffing it in his mouth to hide his momentary terror. The instant anything went wrong he always believed the worst despite nothing actually being wrong. He wondered if he would ever be able to just relax himself and take things at face value. He doubted it though; he was always such a worrier.

A small bark met his ears and he looked down to see his little black Pomeranian whining very quietly and lifting his front paws onto Aoba's leg to be picked up. "Missed you too, Ren," he greeted with a smile, lifting the little dog into his arms and scratching across his stomach through his thick fur. Ren allowed the pampering for a moment before wriggling himself out of Aoba's arms and forcing him to place the dog back on the floor. Before he could say anything else to his grandmother, someone knocked at the door.

"Hm?" Aoba hummed under his breath, wondering who could possibly be visiting this late at night and why they would be here to begin with. Aoba didn't have very many acquaintances, especially not those that would come to call with no notice and just before bedtime. Aoba hurried to the door and peeked through the curtain to try to ascertain who it was before opening the door. It was too dark to be certain, but he swore he saw a flash of red before he turned the knob.

"Aoba!" a very familiar voice greeted and made his way inside the house without being invited. All his suspicions about who it could be flew out the window when he realized it should have been obvious from the start. Koujaku made his way through the living room after stepping out of his shoes, shooting Aoba his characteristic grin that made him scowl. What did he think he was doing? "Hello, Tae!" he greeted Aoba's grandmother, pressing a kiss against her cheek and causing her to swat him away as she turned off the stove.

She snapped at him, "I didn't know we would have guests so late." Koujaku laughed shamelessly and helped himself to a donut, seating himself at the table next to his grandmother as Aoba glared at him from the counter by the basket. This guy didn't have any manners did he?

After he finished his donut, he smiled apologetically at Aoba's grandmother and said, "I was closing up shop when I saw this kid walking home, so I decided to follow up after I was done to see how you two were doing."

"We're obviously fine," Aoba grumbled back, sitting across the table from Koujaku and crossing his arms over his chest, pointedly neglecting to eat another donut. Which was a shame, because they were the best when they were warm. But he was determined to prove a bizarre point of some type as he watched his best friend help himself to another sweet succulent sphere while Granny raised an eyebrow at Aoba, as if wondering why he wasn't eating. He couldn't believe she would just accept Koujaku's entrance without some type of retribution, but he supposed when someone knew Granny for so long there was a possibility of getting into her good graces.

Aoba hadn't even mastered that yet.

Koujaku laughed at his answer and ruffled Aoba's blue hair affectionately before remembering by the murderous look his friend sent him that he hated when anyone did that and pulled his hand back sheepishly. "I do see that," he replied quietly before putting his hands back into his lap. "It doesn't hurt to check up on my favorite little family, does it?" He laughed again and Aoba felt his annoyance almost leave him... almost. There was something unduly infectious about Koujaku's carefree attitude and he felt like he wanted to adopt it as well. If he were that kind of careless person, that was. "Speaking of, how's Sei?"

"Sleeping, for now," Granny said with a frown as she watched her hands in contemplation. Aoba wanted to tell Koujaku to drop it, but it wasn't something he had the heart to do; Koujaku cared about all of them way too much for his own good, Aoba thought sometimes. "He's been getting better some days and others he's as bad as he's ever been."

For a moment Koujaku's happy expression melted away and he frowned slightly, making Aoba's heart fill his throat. He really did care too much. "Let me know if I can do anything for you, Tae," he said seriously, patting her hand with his own scarred one and eliciting a noncommittal grunt from her. Aoba remained silent as he bit his lip, staring down at the snack with his hunger pangs completely subsiding with his guilt. Sei was upstairs in the room he shared with Aoba, where he spent most of his days the past couple of years. They couldn't afford a hospital stay, so Tae did all she could to care for him herself.

"You should save some worry for yourself sometimes," Aoba said with a frown, nudging Koujaku's leg with his knee. Koujaku just smiled at him and covered Aoba's hand momentarily with his own before reaching down to pluck the frantically wagging Ren from the tiles and placing him in his lap. Whenever Aoba saw Koujaku being kind to Ren or Sei or Tae, he always felt a warm sense of domesticity in his chest that truly didn't have any basis in fact, but he couldn't keep himself from feeling it.

He had just known Koujaku too long, he supposed.

The next several hours were spent with quiet smalltalk before Koujaku called it quits and decided to head home, yawning as he spoke. Aoba followed him to the door after the man embraced his grandmother and slipped on his shoes. "You don't need to, Aoba," Koujaku insisted as he watched his friend get ready to leave after him, his brows pulled together in the middle in dismay. This was almost ritualistic for them so Aoba ignored his pleas.

"I'll be back in a couple of minutes, Granny!" She called back something to him that he didn't hear as he locked the door behind himself and Koujaku, quickly following after the man in the red yukata. He didn't know why his friend even bothered to try to tell him not to walk him partway home; Aoba did it every single time without fail and nothing Koujaku ever said swayed his decision. Besides, maybe it was silly or superstitious, but he liked the thought of being a good luck charm for Koujaku, since he himself never seemed to run into trouble after dark the way most people did. He thought lamely that he hoped he hadn't just jinxed himself just then as he evened his strides with Koujaku.

"You don't have to keep doing this you know," his friend grumbled, adjusting his yukata and shooting Aoba a rather grumpy frown. "I'm a nearly thirty year old man, not a half sober teenage girl." Aoba just laughed at that, finding himself surprised that he had known Koujaku for nearly twenty years of his life, on and off, and they were still finding themselves having petty squabbles such as this.

Aoba replied back defiantly, skipping over a crack in the sidewalk as he glanced up from where his light brown eyes were fixated on the rocky street. "Don't be stupid, of course I do. I always do!" He meant it to be lighthearted, but the deepening crease between the man's eyebrows told him that perhaps Koujaku didn't quite take it as he meant it. But it was true; this trek was practically a tradition for the two of them and he was a bit miffed that he still continued to question Aoba's participation in it. "I don't want you to walk home alone."

Koujaku smiled back at him and while there was still a bit of tension in his features, he did seem genuinely pleased by his answer. "You always tell me I care too much, but you care a lot too, Aoba." He felt the tips of his ears redden slightly as he looked back to the cement walkway, frowning.

"Why even say it? It's obvious I do," he grumbled back, crossing his arms over his chest in annoyance. Koujaku had a bad habit of pointing out exactly what Aoba would not want him to and having no shame in doing so, while simultaneously being unaffected by his very same actions and emotions being pointed out by Aoba, who wanted to fluster him somehow and never succeeding. Koujaku stopped walking and turned to face him, though it took Aoba a moment to realize they had reached the halfway point between their homes. Koujaku smiled at him and touched his palm openly to Aoba's cheek for a brief moment before turning around to head the rest of the way home.

He called back, waving a hand over his head, "Thank you, Aoba."

"Message me when you get home!" Aoba headed back the other way, his hands in his pockets as he kicked small pebbles along the sidewalk. It was cold and he was bundled up, but he could still feel the bite of the wind against his cheeks as he waited to cross the street, his mouth pressed together in a thin line. He wondered if Sei needed anything as he neared his house, the dull thudding noises of his shoes echoing off all of the nearby buildings as he hurried up the steps and inside.

It still smelled like freshly baked donuts and he snuck into the kitchen to snag one last one from the basket before heading up the stairs to his room. He was silent as he opened the door and closed it effortlessly behind him, not a noise to be heard. In the moonlight from the veranda he saw the gentle rising and falling of his brother's chest as he faced away from Aoba, his arms wrapped around a large stuffed bear Koujaku had gotten him several months ago when he had been rushed back to the hospital again. Aoba smiled softly at him before stripping down to his underwear and getting into a comfortable pair of pants and a loose shirt to sleep in.

Ren leapt onto the bed beside him and snuggled up against Aoba's stomach, watching him get settled before resting his head down on his paws to sleep. Aoba scratched the top of his head as his own hit the pillow, and he closed his eyes in exhaustion.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really impatient, so I decided to post up chapter two pretty soon after chapter 1. Still looking for a beta, if anyone would be interested!

The basket in Aoba's arm was heavy and he was sort of regretting the decision to put off all the shopping until later in the week rather than going a couple of times for some of the items, because it was taking longer than he had hoped and he had more than he expected. Basically it was the worst idea he could conceive and here he was living it. Granny would be upset if he didn't come home with all that she requested from him at the beginning of the week, and yet he wasn't sure how he could bring it all home in one trip without his arms falling off.

He sighed deeply and put back a couple of items he had picked up that weren't necessary and he could go back for tomorrow, heaving his basket towards the cashier to pay. Aoba was a little surprised that he had yet to learn his lesson about waiting until the last minute to shop for groceries but he was certain that he never would. He sighed impatiently as he waited for everything to ring up and to charge it to his card so he could just head home already. "Heya, Aoba!" someone called from behind him and he nearly dropped his basket in surprise, turning around to see a pair of familiar faces grinning at him from the next turnstile over.

Trip and Virus were nearly identical, with bleached blond hair styled in neat, even spikes and parted the opposite direction from the other. Virus had a pair of think, black rimmed glasses that did not obscure his bright blue eyes and Trip's face was slightly longer and more angular, but those were the only differences between the two he could see. It always surprised him to remember that they were not only not twins, but not related either. "Ah, Trip! Virus!" he greeted his old friends, waving to them with his free gloved hand as he inched forward in line. "Strange to see you here, actually."

"True," Virus admitted cheerfully, his hands casually tucked into his pockets as he glanced uninterestedly around the supermarket. It was almost a little surreal to see the two perfectly dressed men in a setting like this, with all of the poor and unwashed masses that Aoba counted himself a part of. Maybe not unwashed, he thought as he wrinkled his nose slightly at the thought, spacing out for a moment before Virus's laugh brought him back to the situation at hand. "Aoba, when you make that expression it certainly makes you look incredibly cute," he offered and Aoba rolled his eyes, trying not to laugh. The two men were always so flattering to him, and he never really knew why but they always seems so insistent that he never denied it.

"What were you thinking of?" Trip asked curiously, but Aoba just chuckled nervously as he began to toss all of his items on the conveyor belt.

He replied offhandedly, "Nothing, nothing. Mostly wondering why you two are here?"

They smiled and glanced to each other before focusing their attention back to Aoba. "We were asked to keep an eye out here for a moment or two, though you're certainly the only interesting thing we've seen all night," Virus replied with a shrug, checking his cell phone absently before shooting a glance at Trip, who was still watching Aoba.

"It must be a very boring night then," Aoba laughed as the two watched him check out and he felt a little self conscious holding his wallet and awaiting the cashier to take his card to pay. They were nice guys, he mused, but they certainly had a strange interest in him that he couldn't quite place. Not that he could really complain; he would rather be in the good graces of the yakuza than in the bad.

Trip answered, "You don't give yourself enough credit." Aoba was unsure of what to say to that as he reached to hand the cashier his card. Though before she took it, he saw Trip press his own into her hand and grinned at Aoba, who was shocked. "That is also a very cute expression."

"Hey, wait a sec, you don't need to do that!" Aoba said, horrified as he watched the girl scan Trip's card instead of his own, his mouth slightly agape as Trip accepted his card back gracefully. "I can pay for my own groceries!"

Trip and Virus laughed as Aoba started to gather up his bags, flustered and confused. "You can pay us back by bringing us some of your grandmother's cooking," Virus said dismissively before garnering Trip's attention. He was very focused on something on his phone's screen, the light illuminating his already otherworldly blue eyes. "I think it's time to wrap this up, the tip we got must have been wrong."

"Seems like it," he replied with a shrug, reaching out to grasp Aoba's shoulder. The two of them must have had business elsewhere though Aoba never asked because he never wanted to know. Despite being good friends with the two, their work certainly never interested him at all. "Bye-bye."

"See you around Aoba. Don't be a stranger." Virus and Trip quickly exited the establishment and left Aoba feeling rather winded by the interaction as he gathered up his groceries. Many of the consumers in the market were staring at him openly, though he chose to ignore their accusatory faces as he hurried out of the store himself. He was sure they knew the line of work Trip and Virus were a part of and while he was relatively sure they would never do anything that would cause Aoba any trouble, he couldn't really say the same for anyone else in the Old Resident's District that he knew of.

The bags hurt his fingers a little as he lugged them the twenty minute walk home, his upper arms straining slightly as he kept his face down against the wind. He'd made this trip so many times that he could do it with his eyes closed, but he was worried about taking too long that his brother and grandmother would worry. Trip and Virus had a tendency to take up a lot of his time unexpectedly and while he usually didn't mind, today was probably one of the worst days to be late home from the store. He hurried along the darkened sidewalk anxiously while continuously checking his watch for the time, hoping that his grandmother didn't scold him too much for being late.

"...the fuck!!"

A loud voice interrupted his thoughts and he heard a crashing thud as he reached the edge of an alleyway, his grip tightening on his groceries as he debated whether or not he should go investigate the commotion. His common sense was telling him no, no, no but his curiosity was getting the better of him as he inched towards the mouth of the narrow walkway, trying to peek in to whatever was going on inside. His shoes led him to the very beginning next to a several abandoned cardboard boxes, biting his lip as the darkness obscured whatever had happened only minutes before. "...hello?" he called out warily, trying to blink through the dim lighting to see if the person who cried out was still there.

"It would be a better idea to not go back there, I think." Aoba nearly jumped out of his skin as he spun around quickly, the groceries hanging on the edges of his fingers as he stared into the open, empty street to see who had spoken. For a moment he didn't see anyone nearby and his heart race hiked up, but suddenly a white figure leaned into view from behind a corner, almost acting like he was shy. Aoba stared at him, confused and uncertain, taking in his long white coat and bright yellow scarf, his knee high laced boots and white hair. The look was completed by the gas mask clinging to his face, completely obscuring his features from Aoba, who was terrified of the sight.

"Who are you?" he squeaked, cursing himself for being so easily startled by this man but hoping the expression he was making was at least a little intimidating. He didn't answer at first, just seemed to regard Aoba openly with his hands buried deep in pockets of his white coat and his head tilted very slightly to one side. He clutched the bags in his fists harder, wondering if maybe he was going to be forced to use them to beat down this mysterious gas mask man. He seemed like some sort of crazy person; who wore a gas mask as a fashion statement?

The man replied carefully, clearly, "I am no one important, but you are everything. So please, be very safe the rest of your walk home, Aoba-san." He blanched as his name fell from the man's lips, who behind the mask sounded like he was talking into a plastic cup. Before he could demand answers, the man fled and he was well out of sight before Aoba could register what had happened. He stared in the direction he had run for a moment before he realized he needed to be home fifteen minutes ago and rushed down the street, not interested in another unwanted encounter from anyone else.

"Late! As usual!!" He heard his granny huff as he ran through the door and locked it securely behind him. Sei said something in return from the kitchen and Aoba was pleased to hear him out of bed and downstairs for the first time in days, and entered the room with a grin on his face. His brother was wearing a robe and very loose pajama pants that he recognized as his own, a steaming cup of hot cocoa cradled in his hands. Their grandmother was at the stove cooking, as usual, and she glared at him across the kitchen as he began to unload the bags in his arms.

Aoba replied apologetically, "I'm sorry Granny, I ran into Trip and Virus at the store and they held me up for a little while." Sei's ears perked slightly at their names and Aoba shook his head very slightly to show that he wasn't going to say anything more about it in front of their grandmother. She didn't wholly approve of the two of them since they used to get Aoba into some trouble when they were all a few years younger, though Sei was incredibly interested in what they did for a living and begged Aoba to tell them stories about it since he had never gotten out of the house enough to get to know the two.

"Just put the groceries away," she snapped back, giving him a relieved smile when he patted her hand and did as he was told.

"I'm surprised Koujaku isn't here yet," Aoba said conversationally as he emptied the bags, looking to his older brother for some kind of explanation. Sei just shrugged and took a sip of his hot chocolate, his eyes sliding from Aoba's face to the kitchen door that led to the living room. He glanced behind him and saw Ren wagging his tail ferociously and trotting into the room, his little pink tongue hanging out of his mouth. Aoba stooped down to pet him when all of the groceries were put away, though he didn't notice how badly they had indented the skin of his fingers until he reached out to ruffle his dog's fur. He had really gotten sidetracked that night, he thought in annoyance, running his fingers all through Ren's fur and mussing it up into a wild mess.

Sei said with a laugh, "If you keep doing that to him, his fur will stay that way." Before Aoba could respond someone knocked at the door, though Sei was already out of his seat and heading for the living room when it did. He hurried to the door and Aoba heard the loud, affectionate greeting of Koujaku from the living room, watching him walk in with his brother, an arm draped around Sei's shoulders. "All right, the whole family is here!"

Koujaku laughed and seemed a little embarrassed by that remark and Aoba smiled at him, thinking it was kind of sweet. He had to realize how much of a part of the family he really was, how much Tae and Sei cared about him. How much Aoba cared about him. He pushed the thought from his mind and swallowed hard, feeling a little embarrassed for thinking such a thing. 

“You don't have to keep inviting me to these things, you know!” he replied with a pleased grin as he took his customary seat between Sei and and Aoba, both of whom gripped his hands out of habit to keep him from trying to help around the house while he was there. The four of them have gotten together every other Friday night for as long as Aoba could remember to the point where it wasn't even something that Koujaku asked him about any longer. He just showed up, like he did many other times throughout the week admittedly, and the four of them would have a nice homecooked meal together.

He knew it stemmed from when Koujaku returned back from where his parents had taken him on the mainland, but when he returned alone Tae, in her way, demanded that he shared a meal with them at least a few times a month make sure he was eating enough. He, of course, couldn't say no since he loved her cooking and here he was. It was something that Aoba knew none of them would miss; he always had Fridays off work so he could go shopping for food for dinner, Tae never planned anything for that day as she started cooking early in the day, Koujaku closed up shop earlier and Sei even made a point to make sure he was present as much as possible, like today. They really did feel like a family.

Sei was laughing quietly at something Tae was shouting about, and Aoba looked to their hands that were wrapped around Koujaku's, and he noted that while Sei's fingers were resting gently on top of their friend's, Koujaku had linked his and Aoba's hands together tightly, and the sight made his heart twinge happily. He wasn't sure if it were an intentional thing he did and for what purpose he did it, but Aoba would be lying if it didn't make him incredibly happy. Koujaku had a subtle way of making him feel as though he was the most important person in the room, though he knew that Koujaku had a history with much of his clientele from the salon.

“Aoba, bring out the tea,” Granny snapped as she began to set out the plates of food before them and he obliged, unlacing his fingers from Koujaku's and giving everyone a cup for their beverage. It felt so domestic with the four of them, and Aoba never felt more at home than during these dinners with his brother, grandmother and Koujaku. Aoba clutched his chopsticks excitedly, waiting for his grandmother to take her seat and pick up her own.

In sync, the four of them called out, “Thank you for the food!” Aoba found himself piling up his plate before anyone else and stuffing it into his mouth, not realizing how hungry he was until he finally started to eat. It was delicious, as usual, and he decided to ignore the humored looks from both Sei and Koujaku as he added more food to his plate. He hadn't been this hungry in a long time, and he wondered if it was because of the scare of the gas mask man. He swallowed hard, wondering if he should talk about it, though decided it would be better not to so he didn't scare his brother and Granny. Maybe with Koujaku though.

The rest of the meal passed with a little smalltalk, but mostly in silence as they ate their food. It was kind of difficult to talk around it, so they allowed themselves to eat and drink themselves into food comas before finally gathering the ability to speak. Sei and Granny stood up from the table and moved to the living room as Koujaku and Aoba began to clean, like they usually did. They wiped the dishes and put the leftover food away in silence, though Aoba had a thousand things he wanted to say to his friend before the night was through.

He glanced at Koujaku out of the corner of his eye and watched him momentarily. His friend was handsome, that much was certainly true. The girls of the salon weren't settling for someone who wasn't. He had dark black hair and disconcertingly red eyes that stood out against his mocha skin. His hands and arms were covered in scars, and he even sported a long thin line across his nose from something that he had never discussed with Aoba before. He wondered if Koujaku had ever wanted to talk about it before, if he were rude for never having asked. Aoba wasn't sure. There was plenty he didn't know about the man, but he never gathered the courage to request more information from him.

Once the dishes were clean, dried and put away, Aoba followed Koujaku upstairs to the room he shared with Sei. This was also something they did nearly every week they had dinner together; Sei and Granny would watch television in the living room for a little while as Sei discussed his health and he and Koujaku would go upstairs to the room to talk to each other. He wasn't sure what was going on between them, but he knew that these little heart to hearts they seemed to have was making friendship with Koujaku stronger. They made themselves comfortable on Aoba's bed, a few inches away from each other and leaning against the wall.

Aoba was comfortably full as he rested his elbows on his knees, taking a moment to glance to Koujaku just as the man started to speak. “How is everything here, Aoba?” he asked quietly, glancing out of the corner of his eye to the younger man as he waited for a response. How did he always know that there was something up before Aoba even had a chance to say it?

Frowning slightly, Aoba shook his head. “Everything here is fine, but I wanted to talk to you about something.” Koujaku remained silent as he waited for the answer and in his mind Aoba debated with how he was going to put this without sounding like a maniac. The situation with the man in the gas mask was disconcerting, definitely, but at the same time, he wasn't sure if it were troubling enough to bother Koujaku with it either. He sighed deeply and looked at the man's red eyes. “When I was walking home today, I was stopped by this guy. Never seen him before, but he was wearing all white and had some kind of weird gas mask on. Ever seen him around?”

“A gas mask?” Koujaku asked in surprise, a frown on his lips as he brought a hand to his chin. His fingers were long but thick and Aoba watched them for a moment before looking back to catch the man's eyes. “Never seen someone like that around, but I'll keep a look out. Are you all right?”

“Fine, fine,” he replied in embarrassment at the intense expression on Koujaku's face. “He actually told me that an alley I was passing was dangerous, so I guess he saved me more than anything.” Aoba shrugged in confusion and could tell that the man wanted to discuss it further, but there was nothing more to talk about in regards to it. He wasn't even sure if it were something that had been worth mentioning in the first place, but he just wanted to get it off of his chest. As if not mentioning it to someone would mean it wasn't real.

“Just be safe out there,” Koujaku said with a sigh, his fingertips lightly brushing Aoba's hand before he drew his arm back into his lap, his mouth pressed into a tight frown.

“Of course, Koujaku.” The rest of the night went quickly and Aoba found himself walking Koujaku home again, his hands in his pockets to protect against the cold and Ren following along behind them obediently. They said little to each other, though Aoba wasn't sure what the issue was but didn't want to make something that he wasn't sure of worse than it already was. When they reached the halfway point, Aoba began to turn away but Koujaku stopped him with a hand on his cheek, startling him. “Kou... jaku?” he said in embarrassment at the intense look in his eyes, feeling the warmth settling into his face at the tender touch.

He opened his mouth to speak, but before any words could come out there was a loud cry and a thud behind him. He felt a strong breeze as if someone had run very quickly past him, and he spun around quickly to see something he was not expecting. The gas mask man was lying spread eagle on the sidewalk behind him, his arms and legs spread out and his scarf covering a large portion of the mask. “You!” Aoba said in shock, kneeling down beside him in earnest and untangling the scarf from around his mask.

“Ow, ow, ow,” the man whined pathetically as he sat up from the dirt of the sidewalk, facing Aoba though he wasn't sure if he were looking at him from behind the glass plates of the mask. “Aoba-san!” He was really uncertain about what was going on, but he felt Koujaku shove by him and grab the man by the front of his coat.

“Who are you?” Koujaku demanded, lifting the man to his feet and holding his mask inches away from his own nose. He heard the man in the mask whimper slightly and Aoba hurriedly stood up, forcing Koujaku to release his hand from the man's coat. “Aoba, be careful.”

The man took a step back away from them, his hands poised in front of him in a defensive stance, and Aoba frowned. “This is the second time you've shown up tonight, what do you want?” There was a tense silence as Aoba held his arm out in front of Koujaku to keep him from pummeling the masked man without first searching for a good reason to do so. The man in the mask remained quiet, as if he were thinking or carefully debating what he was going to say.

“I'm here to save you.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter that will be up for a little bit. I have to do some editing and rechecking of the plot for the rest of this act before I continue any further. A lot of it wasn't really as good as I thought when I went back to reread, so I'm going to change some stuff before I continue on.

“He's living at your house?” Koujaku's voice carried down the street and echoed off the the buildings in the early morning air. It was still nippy and Aoba clutched his jacket around his shoulders tightly as he waited in front of the salon for it to open with his best friend. Koujaku lit a cigarette and was puffing on it anxiously, though Aoba couldn't help but feel that he was being a little melodramatic.

“He's just sleeping on the couch some nights,” Aoba said with a shrug, leaning against the door with his cheek against Koujaku's shoulder. It was early and he was cold, but it had been a week since the two of them had seen each other, since the situation with Clear—whom Aoba had finally gotten a name out of—and he was hoping that Koujaku wasn't taking the situation as badly as he was wont to do with many things.

He was.

Aoba frowned. He knew Koujaku worried about himself and his grandmother, but he wondered if he realized that Aoba also knew how to take care of himself sometimes too. There was a time when Koujaku wasn't around and when Aoba got himself into a lot of trouble and had to do things on his own terms, so sometimes when his friend expressed all that worry, it was a little annoying. Aoba wasn't helpless as people seemed to think.

“You're both too loud for it being this early in the morning,” someone said with a laugh and Aoba recognized the voice instantly. The man who spoke was thin and a bit taller than Aoba, and had the greenest eyes that he had ever seen on a person. His hair was red and short and he had green tattoos on his face and throat that made Aoba cringe a little every time he saw them. They must have been painful.

“Mizuki!” Aoba said cheerfully, raising a hand in greeting and smiling at his friend. Mizuki had been a friend of Aoba's for several years now, before Koujaku came back from the mainland, and they were pretty close. Though he and Koujaku were from opposing gangs, they got along really well and hung out occasionally, even without Aoba.

He grinned. “Aoba, Koujaku, you two fight like old lovers sometimes.” Aoba felt the rush of heat from his cheeks to his ears and rolled his eyes as Koujaku laughed it off, setting up the sign that he always put out when he was open for business. Mizuki said that nearly every time he caught them bickering but Aoba wasn't sure why it bothered him so much each time it was said. “I was going to ask you if you wanted to hang out today, but it looks like Koujaku is going to be pretty busy I think, with all the girls that are going to come up today when they see this.”

Aoba frowned, not enjoying the implications but understanding why they were said. He did, after all, have a reputation. “I won't be around here for too long once the girls start showing up, so I'll be free Mizuki.”

“Deal. Meet me at Black Needle in a little while, we'll have a drink.” Aoba nodded and Mizuki waved to them as he headed off back towards his parlor. He was a tattoo artist, a really great one in fact, and Aoba was always impressed by his work no matter how many times he saw the art on the walls and the patrons leaving with beautiful ink creations on their skin and fresh piercings in their faces or ears. None of it ever enticed Aoba himself to get any of it done though not from a lack of Mizuki trying to convince him.

“Don't let him put any ink on you,” Koujaku said with a grumpy expression, opening the door to his shop that was situated right below where he lived. Aoba frowned at him, almost tempted to get something small just to make Koujaku look even more miffed, but he knew he would regret something like that just for a simple joke, so he quickly pushed the idea from his mind.

Aoba grumbled, “You always say that. And sometimes in the same breath beg to chop off all my hair. Am I allowed make any decisions myself?” He was joking for the most part, but the way he phrased it must have set him off because Koujaku dropped the scissors he had just been laying out previously, startled. He felt the urge to apologize for being so crude, but before he could say anything Koujaku stooped down to pick the scissors back up, a dark expression on his face.

“I didn't mean it like that,” he said with a frown, setting the scissors aside to be sanitized later and setting up the other things he would need. “I just don't want you to have something so permanent on your skin that you would regret later.” Aoba didn't reply for a moment, wondering if Koujaku meant something more than what he gathered from the surface of those words. He nodded slowly, uncertain of what to say to his friend and waited for another half an hour as the Old Resident's District began to wake up and get busy. He was inside looking at the decorations that Koujaku had hung up in his shop when he heard the first girl squeal.

“He's cutting hair today, go tell the others!” Aoba rolled his eyes and took a step back from the wall, glancing around the corner to see where Koujaku was leaning against the doorframe expectantly. He arms and shoulders were beautifully shaped, he could tell even through the kimono, and his profile spoke volumes about what he was thinking in that moment. Aoba felt embarrassed that he was thinking such things about the man, but he almost couldn't help it. He was so different now than when he left all that time ago, he felt like he didn't know him at all anymore. He wanted to though. 

More than anything.

Clearing his throat he reached out and touched Koujaku's arm gently, startling the man out of his thoughts as he turned to look at Aoba. “I'm heading out before your pack of raving fans get here,” he said with a chuckle, waving goodbye and edging around him towards the door.

“See you soon, then Aoba. Don't be a stranger.”

Same to you, he wanted to say, but he held his tongue and hurried down the street to his home to wait it out before going to see Mizuki, as it was still a little early to be drinking. The streets were becoming more crowded and he passed several shops on his way from the shopping district towards where he lived with his grandmother, his thoughts on a thousand different things at once, more specifically on Koujaku. But as he passed an electronics shop, his eyes were drawn to a familiar looking man in front of a familiar looking building.

Everyone knew Toue, either from sight or reputation, but it didn't mean that they all had to like him. He was a most powerful man in Midorijima, and not one that Aoba liked to think about or ever wish to get involved with. They were playing a rerun of one of his recent speeches and he tried to tune it out as he passed, his mouth pressed into an annoyed line and his eyes averted from the screens. It was almost impossible to not hear his speeches, since they were played constantly after he gave them as one of the only approved things to be on television in public. It made Aoba a little sick to think about.

The Toue Conglomerate owned practically everything on this island, and the only people who had decided to put up a fight were those who were left in the Old Resident's District, not wishing to see their homes or their way of life demolished at the whims of a man who tried to pay them off. Aoba and Sei were only small babies when it all happened, but his Granny would talk about it from time to time when she was upset with something new that Toue decided to do to them as incentives to leave their homes.

But they didn't leave. Despite the harsh living conditions and the near constant threat of police brutality, the residents here were far too protective of their homes to allow Toue to take it over. And while if you went anywhere outside of the District, all you saw was the shiny, platinum feel of everything new and rich that Toue had installed. Anyone who had money lived in his little utopia and many people in the Old Resident's District had been invited out to visit and experience the 'better' way of life for themselves, including Granny. But, of course, she declined.

The corporations here were all talk, and Aoba's Granny wasn't one to accept that. He worried about her declining those invitations, but so far there had been no heads on the chopping block that he could see. Aoba loved his home, he loved the rustic feel and the sight of everyone else trying to live their lives the same as them. He loved the idea of everything being used and worn down but still working, as if it were a metaphor for the daily lives of everyone that lived in this district. They would never give up and he wouldn't either, no matter what Toue threw their way to try and break their spirits.

Some people weren't quite so tame, though, giving rise to the various gangs around the city. Koujaku was in one called Beni-Shigure and Mizuki was in one called Dry Juice, and while they were the only ones that he was closely familiar with, he worried constantly about the safety of his friends when they got into trouble. He knew they were strong and could hold their own, but past memories of watching them come to him injured were always strong in the back of his mind.

Aoba was wrapped in this thoughts so much that he didn't realize that someone was suddenly walking beside him in the same direction he was heading. He looked up, not realizing that he had inadvertently changed directions to head towards Black Needle rather than home. His watch told him it wasn't even 1pm yet, but maybe seeing Mizuki had taken hold of his mind. Certainly he didn't go out very often these days so as not to worry his grandmother, but today just seemed like a day that was he was meant to do something different. His eyes darted to the left to see who had joined him on this venture, and realized he had never seen the person before in his life.

He was wearing a lot of green, and had short blond hair mostly covered by a dark, oversized winter cap with white puffballs attached to the tassels. His face was stoic and covered in piercings, in his mouth and nose and his eyebrow. The young man's face was smooth, and Aoba had a feeling he was younger than his own 23 years, though by how much he could not say. Lime green eyes stared straight ahead, never acknowledging Aoba though they walked almost in perfect step with each other. He asked nervously, glancing up at the kid's face, “Can I help you?”

He barely reacted to the question, taking a moment to meet Aoba's eyes and then looked back to where he was heading. “No.” The answer incensed Aoba and he frowned in annoyance, giving the kid a glare before facing forward too. Why they were walking together was beyond Aoba, but the blond haired man wasn't going to tell him and despite the fact that they seemed to be going the exact same way, he was a little too intimidated to ask.

They said nothing more as they arrived to the door of the Black Needle and the two entered together. A few of the patrons glanced up from their drinks and one waved at Aoba, but it was Mizuki who spoke first. “Aoba, Noiz! Didn't know you two knew each other.” Aoba raised an eyebrow at the kid, Noiz, and shook his head.

“We don't,” he replied back, pushing past Noiz to get to the station where Mizuki had a female client on his chair. She was getting something tattooed and Aoba could see the dark ink stains on the black gloves that Mizuki was wearing as he inched around to see what he was inking on her. Noiz said nothing, just lounged in one of the waiting chairs as he pulled out his cell phone and began typing madly on it. Aoba ignored him and took a seat in the spare chair in Mizuki's station. The girl didn't seem to mind him watching her get tattooed and smiled at him, one that he returned awkwardly before crossing his legs and leaning on the arm of the chair. 

“Thinking about getting something done yet?” Mizuki asked with a chuckle, wiping the mixture of ink and blood from the girl's shoulder blade and continuing on with his work. He knew Aoba would say no like he always did, but had the tendency to ask if he wanted anything out of habit, it seemed. Or maybe if he kept asking Aoba might cave and get something done. He had to admit, watching the draw and pull of the needle gun was almost intoxicating as he saw the girl get the colors permanently inked into her skin. What Koujaku had told him came back as an annoying echo in his mind and he pushed it away because he never planned to get anything done in the first place. 

He replied with a shake of his head, “Absolutely not, Mizuki, you know that.” The girl laughed and held out her arm to Aoba. It was completely covered in colors and shapes that didn't really make any sense to Aoba, though he recognized it as what Mizuki had referred to as 'geometric' tattoos. Definitely not something Aoba would ever think to get done, but if she liked them then, well, all the power to her.

“Mizuki does great work though, if you do decide to get something you better come here!”

“Ah don't pressure him, he'll do what he likes anyway.” Aoba rolled his eyes and the next twenty minutes passed in silence as Mizuki finished the tattoo and accepted payment from the girl. She waved goodbye to Aoba before she exited the shop and he lifted his hand a little too late before she closed the door behind her. He bit his lip as Mizuki began to clean up his station, humming to himself as he stuffed his tip into his pocket.

Aoba said, “First tattoo of the day?”

As he was throwing away the excess ink from her tattoo and removing the needle from the gun, he answered, “Sure is. She went somewhere else to get a cheaper tattoo and then had to come here anyway to get it covered up and tipped me extra this time. She'll never go anywhere else again.” He was laughed and Aoba shook his head slightly, crossing his arms. “But, we'll get to that drink in a second, okay? Noiz has an appointment.” He felt someone standing behind him and leaped out of the way when he realized he was blocking the entrance to Mizuki's station and Noiz was waiting right behind him.

“Sorry,” he said, bemused, but Noiz said nothing in return and just settled himself comfortably in Mizuki's chair as the man danced around to get everything ready. He didn't see any ink anywhere nor the needle gun he usually used to do tattoos, and he wondered what Noiz was there for. Though instead of being rude to watch whatever it was, he backed out of the station to head for the bar to wait for Mizuki.

Before he was more than a couple of steps away, Noiz finally spoke. “You can watch. I don't really care.” Aoba turned around with a suspicious expression. Noiz's voice was relatively deep and incredibly impassive, but for some reason it managed to stop Aoba from moving despite the fact that he had previously been uninterested in him minutes prior.

Frowning and edging back towards the station, he asked, “What are you getting done?” Without saying anything, Noiz stuck out his tongue and pointed to the unblemished flesh, making Aoba flinch. A piercing? There?? He was suddenly very aware of his own tongue and blanched, wondering if this kid was some sort of sadist or something. When he returned his attention back to him, he realized that Noiz was smirking at him and he grimaced. “That sounds like a stupid idea,” he declared in irritation, sitting down by Mizuki and pointedly looking away from Noiz.

Mizuki gave Aoba a humored expression. “Plenty of people get it done, it's not a big deal.”

“What's even the point of it?” he asked, trying to decide what reason might ever come over him that would convince him to get his tongue pierced. He couldn't even think of one thing.

“Better head,” Noiz supplied casually, his thumb tapping on his phone screen as he waited for Mizuki to get started. Better... oh. Aoba felt a flush creep up his cheeks and he heard Mizuki laughing loudly beside him, as he obviously noticed Aoba's discomfort at Noiz's statement. He had never been so embarrassed in his life, but how could anyone expect him to just take that statement without some sort of reaction? Most guys didn't just go around admitting that they liked to be with other guys and it took him by surprise, that's all. And maybe made him a little flustered. A little.

Mizuki stepped away from his prepping table with a pair of what looked like scissors with hoops on the end and an unopened needle, still in the packaging. “Ready?” he asked, setting the items down and washing his hands. Noiz put his phone away and nodded, watching Mizuki dry his hands and pull on his black plastic gloves. Aoba had to admit he was incredibly interested as he had never seen Mizuki give someone a piercing before, just tattoos. He inched forward and watched as he clamped the scissor looking thing on Noiz's tongue in the middle, towards the front and reached to open the needle.

Aoba noticed that Noiz's hands were slightly clenched against his black pants and bit his lip for a moment as he reached out to tap his fist. “You okay?” Noiz frowned, looking ridiculous with the clamp still hanging onto his tongue but unable to say anything as Mizuki peeled open the needle and the package with the bar that was very shortly going to go in Noiz's mouth. The entire process was kind of making Aoba's stomach churn, but he was more interested to see it done then to look at the aftermath later. Mizuki lifted the clamps and positioned the needle below Noiz's tongue after checking to make sure that the clamps were in the proper location for the piercing. 

“See that?” Mizuki said, motioning to the underside of Noiz's tongue. There were two thin veins on either side of the clamp and Aoba felt like an elementary school kid looking at them. Noiz's eyebrows were brought together in annoyance, but Aoba ignored him and apparently so did Mizuki. “You have to get the piercing in the middle of those, otherwise you'd be in a world of hurt. Well, mostly this guy, but it's such an easy thing and I've seen piercers do it wrong somehow.” He grinned at Noiz who was staring at him with such a steely expression that Aoba wondered why Mizuki didn't just get a move on with the piercings. He obviously wasn't that put off by Noiz, but he did lift the clamps up. “And just put the needle in the middle,” he said and suddenly Aoba felt someone's fingers digging into his hand as the needle went through Noiz's tongue.

He felt Noiz retract his hand as soon as the needle was replaced with the metal bar and Mizuki screwed the ball onto the end, pulling his fingers away from Noiz's mouth. Aoba watched Noiz in surprise for a moment but the man didn't make any indication that he had just been holding Aoba's hand while getting a needle stabbed through his tongue. Mizuki began to explain the aftercare and how he should eat for the next week or so, but Aoba wasn't paying attention to it, he was too buy focusing on Noiz's face in shock. Mizuki didn't seem to notice what had happened during the procedure and Noiz's expressionless features didn't give anything away either. Aoba was starting to wondering if he imagined it, to be honest.

Minutes later, he found himself at the bar with Mizuki, a vodka and pineapple in his hands and listening to Mizuki chatter on about his gang, Dry Juice. Most of the people in the bar were part of the gang, though he wondered why he was talking about it so openly in front of people who may not be so friendly towards them? Aoba was around when it was first founded and while he declined Mizuki's various attempts to join, he still was regarded as a friend of the family and everyone there tended to look out for him regardless.

The gangs had initially started as a struggle for power and control of the various regions of the city. Aoba hadn't really paid too much attention to it until Dry Juice had started, and when Koujaku came back and became really prominent in Beni-Shigure. It was mostly like they treated the city as a giant chess board between several different people, and while Dry Juice and Beni-Shigure were always the last people anyone would ever mess with, there were plenty of other gangs that would love to knock them off one by one and control their territory. Because, as Mizuki explained to him once, when you have territory, you have power and when you have power, you're safe. Mostly because the cops and yakuza will leave you alone.

Many people joined Dry Juice in the past few years and Aoba saw a couple new faces whenever he came to visit these days. He supposed the protection of Dry Juice as a brand was enough to encourage new comers to join. Besides, Mizuki was a fair leader and treated everyone with respect, so people from gangs that weren't quite so ideal tended to come looking for support here. Aoba had Sei and Granny and didn't really need any more familial support like a lot of these kids did. “So how's everything been?” Mizuki asked, taking a shot of something off the bar and watching Aoba with the first serious expression he's worn all day. 

Aoba took a sip of his drink and watched Noiz pop a handful of ice cubes into his mouth, not taking his eyes away from his cell phone as he absently spun on the round barstool. “Sei's not getting much better, but he's not as bad as he's been so Granny is hopeful. We just don't want him to have to get surgery if he doesn't have to, because you know how dangerous that could be.” Mizuki nodded and sat down next to Aoba, his elbows resting on the edge of the bar. “Granny is doing good, and I'm still working at Heibon so obviously nothing much has changed for me.” He laughed quietly and drank a little more, his eyes fixated on the tile floors as he realized how boring his life really was.

But, honestly, it was better this way. Better than the way he had been living, at least.

Mizuki nudged Aoba with his elbow. “You know, I respect you a lot Aoba.” That took him by surprise and he watched Mizuki for a moment, uncertain of what to say. “I remember the days when you used to fight a lot, when I first met you and you were such a big troublemaker.” Mizuki grinned at him and took another shot, clinking the tiny glass down on the slick black bar and tilting his head in Aoba's direction. “You really cleaned up your act, you know. Back then, I wouldn't have asked you to be in Dry Juice because you were so unpredictable. Now you're one of the most reliable guys I know.”

“Thanks, Mizuki,” Aoba replied back, slightly embarrassed by the sentiment and downed half of his drink to hide that fact. The two shared less intense banter for the next hour or so as the seemingly disinterested Noiz continued to munch on ice as he played games on his phone, drinking and poking fun at Koujaku and other things they had in common. It wasn't until Aoba stood up to use the restroom that he realized he drank more than anticipated and he walked cautiously towards the door to avoid any unnecessary embarrassment. He relieved himself and washed his hands, wondering first why he drank so much and second how he was going to manage to get home. It was only five, but the days were short and it was nearly completely dark outside.

When he headed back to the bar, he saw that Noiz was showing Mizuki something on his phone and he sat down heavily beside the man in green. The two of them glanced to him, suddenly understanding what was going on, and Mizuki snickered quietly. “Aoba, you going to be okay?” he asked, patting his leg and giving him a knowing stare above his impish grin. He glared at Mizuki and shook out his hair for a moment before standing from the barstool, holding on to the edge of the bar for support. 

“I'm fine. I need to head home soon though, Granny and Sei—” He didn't finish that sentence as Noiz stood up and tucked his phone into his pocket, standing before Aoba and watching him carefully with his lime green eyes. He stopped talking, confused and startled and looked to Mizuki who simply shrugged. “What?” he asked, perhaps a little more aggressively than he meant to. Maybe it was the alcohol. Who knows. He needed to stop allowing Mizuki to get him into this state.

Noiz said, reached out and gripping Aoba's arm. “I'll take him home. I didn't drink.” Before Aoba could protest Mizuki was waving them out the door and trying not to laugh, a drunk flush on his cheeks and pouring himself another shot from the bottle. Aoba allowed himself to be tugged along in a daze for a few minutes before he wrestled his arm out of Noiz's grasp, aggravated and confused. “Where do you live?” Noiz asked impassively, one eyebrow quirked slightly up and Aoba watched the glimmer of the streetlights reflect off the piercings on his face. It was actually a bit distracting, he thought to himself.

“Wouldn't you like to know,” Aoba replied back with a frown, turning away from him and storming off in the general direction of his home. He didn't need a babysitter, especially not one so much younger than himself. He wondered what Mizuki had been thinking, letting this guy he just met cart him off. What if he was never seen again? Would Mizuki feel guilty? He doubted it, that guy was almost as bad as Koujaku. The thought of Koujaku tugged at his heart and he felt twice as fired up as before, deciding that he was going to see Koujaku instead of going straight home. 

Noiz clicked his tongue and followed closely behind Aoba as he weaved in and out of people down the sidewalk, on a mission to get to Koujaku for some reason. It just seemed like the best idea at the time, and while he was paying little to no attention to Noiz, the man still followed beside him, a huge cup of ice cubes in his hand that he kept sucking on every few minutes. Aoba was unconcerned until he rounded a corner and realized he had taken a wrong turn, stomping accidentally in a puddle of water and freezing when he saw a group of people that he didn't know.

“Better take a step back kid,” someone said dangerously to him. His hair was dark and his face was covered in more piercings than Noiz had, and his cracked his knuckles menacingly. On a good day, completely sober, Aoba would have made short work of this guy, but right now he was just scared and anxious, and he fell back a step in fear. When he did, he felt himself walk into the warm body behind him, and felt Noiz wrap his arm around Aoba's chest protectively. He wasn't sure what was going on as Noiz examined the men silently and they glared at him in return.

“You too, brat. Time to get going home to mommy,” the man spat, standing up from his seat on a plastic crate and motioning his fist towards Noiz. For a moment no one moved, and then Aoba felt Noiz remove his arm from around him and step out into the alleyway with what appeared to be a dangerous grin on his face. Aoba stared at him as he casually strolled towards those men, his voice caught in his throat as he tried to tell him that it wasn't worth it and that they should go. Before the words fell from his lips, Noiz was already on the move. His hand gleamed with something metallic as his fist connected with the first man's face, efficiently knocking him off his feet to the dusty alley floor.

Aoba was shocked and watched as Noiz ducked below the next attacker, easily evading his punch and sinking his own fist into the man's gut. He doubled over, spitting up on himself, and collapsed beside his friend just as quickly. The other three men stepped away from Noiz, afraid, but he did not care as he made short work of them as well. It happened so fast that Aoba could barely keep up with what happened until Noiz was before him again, removing the metal gauntlets from his knuckles and slipping them back into the pockets of his pants. He was against the wall of the alley and Noiz walked back to him, his eyes still as intense as they were when he was fighting.

“Are you okay?” Aoba asked quietly, feeling his heartbeat accelerating with each of Noiz's steps towards him. Noiz placed his hands on the alley wall on either side of Aoba's head and he couldn't look away from his beautiful green eyes as they watched each other in silence for several minutes. Before Aoba could speak again, Noiz leaned down and he felt the warm, wet feeling of their lips being pressed together tenderly.


End file.
